South Korea Needs an Arnold

Updated Oct. 14, 2003 12:01 a.m. ET

Sadly for South Koreans, there is no Arnold Schwarzenegger-type figure waiting in the wings to replace their discredited leader. So when President Roh Moo Hyun announced Friday that he would call his own recall vote -- by staging an unprecedented referendum on his eight-month-old presidency -- the popular reaction was one of concern at the prospect that a prolonged period of political and economic instability might ensue.

Opinion polls over the weekend showed that, if the referendum goes ahead, a narrow majority would vote...